STUDENTS IN secondary schools, colleges and the university will receive
their first European Union Student Handbook this week.

The handbook is published annually by Generation Europe, a youth-oriented
organisation funded by the European Union and personalised according to
each country's instructions. In addition to its agenda-style calendar and
study tips, the book focuses on European Union history, geography and laws.

The Ministry of Education has spent £40,000 on the books, which will be
given to students at the secondary schools, technical schools, colleges and
the University of Cyprus. Next year, the Ministry will also order a
simplified edition for younger students.

Minister of Education Ouranios Ioannides presented the book on Wednesday to
school administrators, urging them to spend at least half an hour
presenting it to their students.

There are two mistakes in this year's edition. The first is that Cyprus'
currency is listed as the crown, and the second is that Cyprus does not
appear on a political map of Europe. These mistakes will be corrected in
future editions, Ioannides said.

Cyprus nearly received its 2003-2004 handbooks in Turkish due to Turkey's
order for a Turkey-Cyprus edition. The Greek head of Generation Europe,
Alexandra Glika, discovered the mix-up and ensured that the handbooks sent
to Cyprus were the Greek-language editions ordered by the Ministry of
Education.

THE LOUIS-OWNED Forum Hotel in Nicosia is to be rebranded as the Hilton
Park Nicosia from January 1 following £3 million worth of renovations.

Louis announced yesterday that it had expanded its cooperation agreement
with Hilton International following the signing of two new management
agreements between Louis subsidiary Cyprus Tourism Development Company
(CTDC), which owns the Cyprus Hilton, and Louis Hotels Ltd.

The new Hilton Park will have a spa centre, indoor and outdoor swimming
pools and conference facilities and further upgrades to its luxury
facilities.

The new management agreements will come into effect on January 1 and
provides for the transfer of staff under existing terms, from Hilton Cyprus
to CTDC. Staff at the Forum will continue to work under existing terms.

Louis said its cruise lines arm anticipated substantial synergies stemming
from the management of the two hotels under the Hilton umbrella. The
revised management agreement of the Hilton Cyprus, the cancellation of the
contract with Forum Six Continents along with the synergies, which will
inevitably lead to lower costs for both hotels are expected to result in
CTDC's profitability of around half a million pounds, Louis said.

"The cooperation of the two hotels coupled with Louis Hotels long
experience in the local hospitality industry is expected to upgrade the
hotel and conference facilities of Nicosia and also provide new prospects
for the further development of conference tourism in Cyprus," the
announcement said.

The company would not comment yesterday on the reasons why the contract
with Forum was being terminated. Louis chiefs were abroad, a spokesman said
adding that the details would be revealed at a news conference next week.

TURKISH CYPRIOT leader Rauf Denktash could remain at a university hospital
for up to a week, Ankara University Rector, Professor Nusret Aras, said
yesterday

Denktash, who spent two months in the US recovering from heart surgery,
underwent medical exams at the Ibni Sina hospital. Aras said Denktash "is
well" and as "healthy as you and I" but will stay in hospital for three to
five days, a week, to receive treatment for post-operative fatigue and
anaemia. He added that there were "some small problems with the operation
wound".

Aras said Denktash's condition would not prevent him from working. "'The
examinations showed that there is no problem in his heart," he said.
Denktash was originally scheduled to return to the occupied areas later
today.

Before leaving for Ankara Denktash told reporters that he had had to leave
New York before recovering completely in order to confer with his
colleagues on the UN plan for Cyprus. He said he had not been feeling well
for a number of days and decided to visit doctors in Ankara.

Commenting on the revised version of the UN plan, Denktash said it
contained some improvements but that it was still unacceptable to sign as
it stood. He said negotiations should have been given a chance but instead
were being held in the dark "without any contact". "We have not reached the
point of signing a document," he said. "We want negotiations.

Denktash said his people in Copenhagen would be asking the EU for more time
to negotiate. "We want the leaders of the EU to act with reason," he said.
"We want them to realise that they are killing the chances for an agreement
when they impose a solution on us." He said if Europe wants Cyprus to be
united it must give the two sides a chance but if the EU accepts the Greek
Cypriots "then they must negotiate with us separately about our
membership". "They must lift the embargoes, they must extend economic aid
to us and raise the level of our economy to that of the Greek Cypriots. In
that way we can also get ready by the time Turkey is ready to join the EU".

Denktash said because the EU wants the whole of Cyprus it will be forced to
take the Turkish Cypriots into consideration. "I have told all concerned
officials that forced marriages do not work. The two peoples must not be
forced together once again," he said.

TAXI FARES are set to skyrocket from January 1 after the Communications
Ministry bowed to intense pressures from the Urban Taxi Drivers Federation
(UTDF) to readjust prices to match with increasing fuel and maintenance
costs.

The UTDF has had a long history of disputes with the Transport Department
the latest being the latter's intentions to issue 269 new professional
drivers licenses. Last Tuesday, taxi drivers warned they would go on an
indefinite strike claiming that the cost of running their business was
forcing a lot of drivers to quit.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail yesterday, UTDF president George Koronides
said he was pleased with the outcome of Wednesday's meeting between the
Communications Ministry and the Department of Transport on the issue.

"We are delighted with the Ministry's decision to increase taxi fares, but
we are still not happy with their intentions to issue new professional taxi
licenses," Koronides said.

"We have nothing else to do now but to take the licenses issue to court."

Koronides said the standing rate during the day would rise from £1.25 to
£1.70 and the charge per kilometre would increase from 22 cents to 32 cents
per kilometre.

The flag-fall rate after 8pm would increase from £1.87 to £2.26 and the
charge per kilometre would rise to 38 cents.

The rate per minute for a taxi to wait for the customer will rise to 12
cents per minute in normal hours and 14 cents a minute after 8pm, while the
rate charged for carrying luggage is set to have a 100 per cent increase
from 25 cents to 50 cents per item carried.

The Department of Transport has also increased the taxi driver's holidays
from nine days a year to 14, and customers will also be expected to pay £1
per ride on holidays.

But Consumer Association president Petros Markou said the increases were a
necessary evil.

"The Urban Taxi Drivers Federation presented valid and logical arguments on
the problems they were facing from fares being lower than the fuel and
maintenance costs," Markou said.

"Therefore the Consumers Association did not object to the raising of the
taxi fares. Unfortunately, bearing in mind the rise in fuel and maintenance
costs raising the taxi fares is a necessary evil."

STOCKS PLUNGED 3.04 per cent yesterday, following the previous day's
identical increase as investors became increasingly unsure of what would
happen at the EU summit in Copenhagen.

The all-share index closed at 110 points on a volume of only £3 million.
Blue chips fell 2.91 per cent taking the FTSE/CySE index to 444.4 points.

All sectors took a hit, particularly construction companies, which jumped
7.0 per cent on Wednesday but fell back 5.0 per cent. Other hard-hit
sectors included investment, technology, financial companies and banks, all
dropping in or around 3.0 per cent.

Top traded shares were Bank of Cyprus, which ended the day at £1.74 after
dropping four cents, and Laiki, which shed six cents to close at £1.44.

Louis Cruise Lines, which earlier in the day announced a new cooperation
agreement with Hilton International, was heavily traded but lost almost one
cent to end at 19 cents with over one million shares changing hands.

"Investors that have a weak heart and high blood pressure are advised to
pick a different hobby," said the xak.com analyst. "The investment
community is trying to keep up with developments in Copenhagen but it's not
an easy task as events unfold by the minute. Today's press delivers the
message that all sides are in a deadlock again, and hopes for signing an
agreement document are drifting away. In a nutshell, investors are now
aware of a deadlock, an awareness that has prompted them to liquidate their
positions today as they await more news."

POTATO FARMERS yesterday demonstrated outside the House of Representatives,
demanding £5.6 million in compensation for financial losses incurred this
year. If the government failed to meet their demands they would take active
retaliatory measures and block roads, they warned.

But, Agriculture Minister Costas Themistocleous told the Cyprus Mail
yesterday the amount of compensation the farmers received would be decided
at the Cabinet's next meeting, as soon as President Glafcos Clerides
returned from the EU Summit in Copenhagen. Themistocleous said the
remuneration would not be swayed by external pressures and threats.

"The Cabinet has yet to decide what amount of money we will give the potato
farmers," he said. "It is not a decision that only one ministry can make
alone. It will combine all bodies' input."

The farmers have attributed the sum to losses incurred in the spring
harvest and told the House Agriculture Committee yesterday the amount was
not negotiable. If the government refused to make the payment, they
threatened to move ahead with active measures, involving the blockade of
major roads.

The Committee unanimously backed the farmers' plight and told
Themistocleous to convey this support to the Cabinet. They urged the
ministers to meet the farmers' demands and make the payment.

But, the government "doesn't operate under threats and pressure," said
Themistocleous. "The Cabinet will make its decision calmly and base it on
all the facts. We will not be bargaining the amount of money handed out to
them." What those facts were he would not specify, nor how the farmers
explained the £5.6 million compensation fee.

"We will discuss all aspects involved and decide what amount of money to
give them. This could be one million, two million or five million," he
said. "We do not know yet, nor have we outlined a budget." Whatever the
amount, it would definitely not exceed the sum potato farmers were
demanding, he added.

But, representatives of the farming community are worried about how they
will get through the holidays if the money is not paid to them.

"Three thousand five hundred families will not be able to spend Christmas,"
they said.

Farmers claimed they were forced to endure extreme financial hardship. One
even suggested the government pay them £60 million in compensation so that
they could pack in the profession. Some accused the government's
agricultural policy of "driving them to the edge of a cliff".

Themistocleous said he did not think things had come to that and that it
had been a threat thrown out in the heat of the moment. He pointed out that
under his Ministry, the government had appointed £260 million to the
farming industry, of which £26.5 million was allocated to potato farmers.

D.I.S.Y. DEPUTY Georgios Georgiou championed the cause of beer drinkers all
over the island by raising the question in parliament as to what
regulations govern the size and shape of 'pint' glasses used in bars,
restaurants and hotels yesterday.

According to Phileleftheros, the deputy claimed that different types of
beer glasses used in the food and beverage industry were causing unfair
competition and cheating drinkers out of a proper pint-full of beer, the
report said. Georgiou asked the Commerce Ministry to inform parliament in
what way the matter is regulated in Cyprus.

As it stands, said Georgiou, bars in Cyprus purport to offer pints of beer
and set the corresponding selling price, but depending on whether they are
using glasses that conform to the English model, 0.568 litres, or the
American model, 0.473 litres, the punter runs the risk of being duped out
of 95 millilitres of premium beer.

The DISY deputy was quoted as saying "It's difficult for the customer to
notice the difference between the types of glasses due to the small
difference in quantity, size and shape. However, the difference does make a
difference to him and to the owner of the establishment."

Bars that serve pints of beer in proper glasses might still cheat the
customer of a few droplets of golden liquid as the creamy froth or 'head'
of the beer is often used to make up the millilitres of a pint, making the
more expensive specialty beers. even more expensive. To avoid debate,
especially a drunken one, England and Germany have both dealt with the
matter by serving beers in lined or marked glassware, making it a legal
requirement to fill the glass to the line - and with liquid not foam.